


the light in the dark

by darkdisrepair



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkdisrepair/pseuds/darkdisrepair
Summary: a familiar, red haired druid returns to Whitestone for another de Rolo child birth- but there are no bells of celebration this time. there are powerful forces surrounding the birth, and two souls hang in the balance.
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex'ahlia, Vax'ildan & Vex'ahlia (Critical Role)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	the light in the dark

Anxiety churned in Keyleth’s stomach as she stepped out of the Sun Tree for what felt like the hundredth time. She was used Whitestone at its peak, with bustling marketplaces and cheerful shopkeepers- but today, a solemn mood hung over the town. The square was eerily empty. As Keyleth stood there, the clock’s minute hand moved to the twelve, but the bells of Whitestone Castle remained motionless, with no one to ring them. 

“Thanks, Sun Tree,” she murmured to the tree, letting her hand rest on the tree’s bark for the briefest moment before turning in the direction of the castle. 

“You’ve arrived, thank god,” Jarrett appeared from one of the streets, slightly out of breath. “I’ve been sent to take you up to the castle.”

“How is she?” Keyleth asked, as the two made their way down the streets, their pace urgent. What few people occupied the streets moved out of their way immediately, recognizing both of them as close friends with the de Rolos. 

Jarrett was silent for what felt like an eternity before he spoke, voice low. “She’s… not well. Perhaps it’s better if you see for yourself.”

His words did nothing to calm Keyleth’s nerves. The druid picked up her speed, her eyes fixed on the castle; Jarrett nearly had to run to keep up with the half-elf’s long strides.

* * *

Jarrett left Keyleth once they’d reached the entrance hall, called away by an urgent message. Another servant led her through the familiar halls until they rounded the corner and Keyleth was bowled over by a familiar mass of brown fur.

“Oh, Trinket,” Keyleth murmured, burying her face in the bear’s fur. She could feel the grief rumbling in the bear’s throat as he nudged her down the hallway in the direction of the royal chambers. “I know. It’ll be alright.”

She stepped inside the room, immediately kneeling beside Pike, barely managing a weak smile before turning to the bed, where a familiar dark-haired form lay nearly motionless. 

Vex’ahlia’s skin was pale, almost white. The champion of Pelor, who usually radiated a natural warmth, was freezing to the touch, and her beautiful green eyes were dull. It was almost as if the life had been sucked from her body.

“Kiki,” she said, reaching out a hand to the druid. “I’ve missed you.”

“Hey, Vex,” Keyleth said, with a watery smile. She brushed a strand of dark hair off of Vex’s face. “How are you?”

“Tired.”

“I don’t doubt it. Where’s Percy?”

“With Vesper.”

It was hard to hear Vex’s response. Her words were soft, almost slurred. Keyleth exchanged a worried glance with Pike, who tilted her head to the door. 

Once they were outside, the cleric turned to Keyleth with a deep sigh, running a hand through her white hair. “Percy called me a while ago nearly out of his mind. She was so ill these past few months, first with a cough and then with the fever… when the contractions started, he began to worry. It’s not looking good. She’s too weak. Her body hasn’t had enough time to recover; this pregnancy was already hard for her...

Keyleth swallowed, guilt rising in her chest. She’d had no idea. Things were so disjointed now that they all lived in different places, led different lives. She’d heard whispers, of course, that the Lord and Lady de Rolo were expecting a second child, but knowledge of Vex’s illness had not quite reached Keyleth- news of sickness did not quite spread the way that news of expectancy did. 

“How long has she-”

“She’s been in labor for twenty-five hours now,” Pike said. Keyleth inhaled sharply, covering her face with her hands. “She’s drained. I don’t… I think that we need to prepare for the worst. I don’t think her body can take much more.”

“Oh, gods.”

“I’ve tried everything. Potions, spells. She hasn’t really responded to anything. I thought maybe having you here would help her, seeing someone besides me and Percy. You always made her smile. Maybe you could talk to her, or try some of your magic.”

_ If only Vax could be here,  _ Keyleth thought. He would know what to do. Smiles weren’t enough. 

Even so, as she walked back into the room, she began druid crafting the most beautiful flowers she could think of- pink tulips, red roses, white snowdrops, yellow daisies- in hopes that Vex could draw strength from them like she was able to from the forest.

* * *

It was harder than she thought it would be, to see one of her best friends like this. Keyleth could tell that Vex just barely holding on. She didn’t know how Vex was finding the strength to push through the pain of each contraction- but then again, the ranger had always been stronger than she looked.

At one point, Pike dared to suggest that it might be best to magically end the birth in order to concentrate on Vex’s own health and was immediately given one of Vex’s trademark glares, despite the fact that her energy was clearly waning.

Around one o’clock in the morning, Keyleth heard a faint tapping on the window, and opened it only to come face-to-face with a raven, who hopped inside without hesitation, giving Keyleth a gentle peck on the arm.

“It’s about time you arrived,” Keyleth murmured, after getting over her initial surprise, stroking the bird’s dark feathers. 

And so three became four- Pike, Keyleth, Vex, and the raven, who sat on the windowsill and watched with a gaze that was far too perceptive to be from a normal creature. 

Keyleth knew it was Vax, or some form of him. She just prayed that he was here to ensure that his bargain was kept, and not to lead his sister to the afterlife.

* * *

Jarrett, outside in the hallway, could barely stand to hear the anguished cries coming from the room. He paced up and down the corridor, occasionally stopping to check on Percy and Vesper, who were in the garden room.

To some, Vex’s decision to remove Lord Percival from the room made no sense, but Jarrett understood. He and Lady Vex’ahlia had always been truthful with one another. Her second pregnancy had been tumultuous from the beginning. In the first two weeks she’d begun having frequent spells of dizziness and blinding headaches. In the third month, she’d caught a cold that left her coughing up blood for nearly a week. In the fifth month, she’d come down with a raging fever, leaving her weak and shaky. It was during one of those fever-hazed nights that she had confessed to him that one of her worst fears was that Percy would pull away from their daughter upon her death. She’d made Jarrett promise to look after all of Vox Machina, and Vesper, if she died. 

She’d been logical- almost calm- about it when she asked. Jarrett didn’t know how she could consider her death with such an air of regality. Maybe it was her time spent adventuring with Vox Machina that gave her the strength to make such plans- or maybe it was the fact that she’d already faced death in the face four times before.

The door opened and Jarrett sprang to his feet. Pike emerged, looking like she could fall asleep at any moment. In her arms, she cradled a bright blue bundle of cloth, through which Jarrett could faintly make out a tiny, slightly pointed ear.

“Jarrett, fetch Master de Rolo, please, and quickly.”

* * *

Vax’ildan had never felt so powerless as he did on the night of his namesake’s birth. He could only watch as his sister’s life force faded despite Pike’s best efforts, as her skin grew colder and her eyes dimmer.

He let out some of his breath when at last, after thirty-five hours of labor, the room filled with the whimpers of the baby boy held in Pike’s arms. But his eyes remained fixed on his sister, who was slipping even closer to darkness, the glow given to her by Pelor fading, fading, fading.

Vex’ahlia reached out toward the raven, stroking the dark feathers with a tired smile. “Look after them for me, will you, brother? I don’t know how much longer I can hold on,” she whispered, so quietly that neither Pike nor Keyleth could hear. But Vax could.

He wrenched his gaze from the vision, fury on his face, even as his sister’s hand slipped out of Keyleth’s, and the golden light flickered once, and then vanished.

“We. Had. A. Deal,” Vax snarled, whirling on the masked figure. “My service in exchange for my sister.”

“And I upheld that bargain, did I not? Four times has your sister died, and four times has she been brought back to life.”

“Is my service not enough? You have a champion for as long as you desire. It does you no harm to bring back one more soul from the brink. In refusing to do so, you undermine the terms of our agreement!” Vax shouted. “I will not stand by and watch my sister die now, while she has two beautiful children and a loving husband and a  _ home.”  _

The Raven Queen remained expressionless. “Vex’ahlia’s tie to her world grows weaker with every resurrection. Tonight is no different. You know death, Vax’ildan. It is not forgiving. It takes as it will. For four times over, it has been tolerant of your little deal. It will not be as accepting of a fifth.”

“You cannot go back on your word!” Vax shouted, hand flying to his belt, sending a dagger shooting through the darkness like an arrow toward the goddess. 

With a simple hand motion, the Raven Queen turned the dagger to dust. “If her fate were in my hands, I would do it. I know how much she means to you, my champion, and I myself have grown… attached… to Vex’ahlia’s fate. But her thread is beyond my reach now. I can only assure you that she will be safe here, in my domain, safe from injury, and illness. I’ve done all I can. It is beyond even me now.”

* * *

Several long moments had passed since Percy arrived and Pike spoke the last words of the revivify ritual. Keyleth’s jaw was clenched as she fixed her eyes on Vex’s body, holding her breath, expecting her friend to sit up, laughing, just as she had so many years ago in the Raven Queen’s Tomb….

But the ranger’s hand remained cold and lifeless in Percy’s. 

The wind outside the castle stirred, picking up speed, and still they waited. The raven let out an anguished cry before taking off through the open window and disappearing into the inky darkness, leaving the four, now three, members of Vox Machina in its wake.

A gust of wind blew through the room, rattling the window frame, carrying what looked like leaves into the room with it. Keyleth realized with a jolt that the leaves were not leaves after all, but pitch black feathers, which were swirling around the room, collecting together beside her, until she could just barely make out the faint form of something- no, someone- in their midst.

* * *

As quickly as the wind began, it vanished, dropping the feathers to the floor, to reveal Vax’ildan, windswept, clothed in all black, silver tears tracking down his face.

“Vax,” Keyleth breathed, but he only had eyes for his twin. Vax fell to his knees in front of the bed, opposite Percy, his body shaking with silent sobs.

“I’m so sorry, Percival, I- I tried. I tried,” Vax managed to choke out, before burying his face in his sister’s hair.

Keyleth felt as if she could smell a dank, dusty, rotten odor, as if she were back in that fateful tomb, as if she could see Vax on the floor clutching his sister’s body, as if she could hear again the words that had changed everything- 

_ Take me instead, you raven bitch. _

And just like it had all those years ago, Keyleth’s heart broke. 

A life for a life. A twin for a twin. That had been, and always would be, the deal.

A gentle breeze returned, stirring the loose hairs of Vex’s braid. For a moment, hope flickered across Percy’s face before falling back into deep sorrow. Keyleth bowed her head, even as the first rays of the morning sun crept in through the window. 

She didn’t dare take her eyes off of the group crowded around the bed- but then she blinked, and the room was full of brilliant blue feathers that danced around the room on the wind before drifting out of the window and into the light of the new day.

**Author's Note:**

> I rolled a d20 to see if Vex would live or not. I imagined the resurrection ritual involved contributions from Pike and Percy- Keyleth also contributed in the room but it was Vax's failed bargain with the Raven Queen that took up the third skill challenge. Per Matthew Mercer's resurrection rules, Vex's DC started at 15, was lowered by Percy and Pike's contributions to 9, raised by Vax's to 10. I rolled a 7 as the final roll.


End file.
